


The Unimaginable

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 18:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18104219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: After a routine drop, gunfire ensues and Rio's fate is left unknown causing Beth to cycle through her rather unexpected reaction.





	The Unimaginable

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt: “I have a bad feeling about this.” from [this angst/fluff prompt list](https://hellsdemonictrinity.tumblr.com/post/170921095975/angstfluff-prompt-list-7).

At first, it was like any other drop. This time they met at a warehouse that Rio was currently working out of and when she, Ruby, and Annie arrived he and two of his boys were already waiting outside. They parked the car close by and, with the bag of money in hand, they closed the gap between them. As soon as Beth’s eyes fell on Rio, she got a bad feeling.

She slowly handed the bag over and while its contents were being counted, her eyes remained on him. He wasn’t playing on his phone like usual but his attention was still clearly elsewhere. He was staring off into space, something that rarely happened. In fact, Beth struggled to think of a time where it had happened at all.

Before she could say anything to him, one of his boys touched his arm and gave a nod of confirmation. Rio shook his head a little as if to clear it and motioned for them to head back inside. Before they did, one of them handed Beth their cut of the money.

“I’ve got a deal to handle,” Rio said, finally looking at Beth.“Go home. I’ll contact you with the next job.”

“Everything okay?” Beth asked.

He licked his lips and nodded a little. “It’s all good.”

Beth could tell that he was trying to look as convincing as possible but it fell short. She could see it in his eyes. It wasn’t all good. As he turned and headed back towards the warehouse, and Annie and Ruby headed back to the car, Beth remained where she was. She watched Rio go back inside, the door swinging shut behind him.

“Sis, come on.”

Annie was tugging on her sleeve a little but Beth shrugged out of her grasp. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.

But before she could respond gunfire sounded off from inside the warehouse. Beth felt as if the ground was falling out from underneath her. The shots were still going off as Ruby and Annie looked around frantically. It was as if everything had gone into slow motion. Beth couldn’t tear her eyes away from the warehouse door and she remained unmoving.

“We have to go!” Annie said in a hushed but frantic voice as she shook Beth.

She looked at her sister and blinked a few times. “Rio.”

“He told us to leave,” Ruby pointed out. “We shouldn’t be here.”

Silence fell. The gunfire had completely ceased and there was no sound whatsoever. Everything seemed to speed up again and Beth could feel the ache in her chest as she thought about Rio being inside the warehouse.

“Come on, Beth,” Ruby hissed, tugging on her hand. “He’ll be fine. We need to leave before someone comes out.”

Annie nodded frantically. “We could be next!”

Beth looked at them. It took a second for their fear to register but as it did, she nodded. She allowed for Ruby to lead her back to the car and as soon as they were all inside, they raced out of there, Annie behind the wheel. Beth didn’t even comment on the reckless driving but simply stared ahead, that dreaded feeling still in the pit of her stomach.

“What the hell was that?” Annie yelled as they finally joined a busy road and the car slowed down a bit.

“Something was on his mind,” Beth said, looking in the rearview mirror at Ruby before focusing ahead again.

They both looked at her and then at each other. It was Ruby that spoke. “What do you mean?”

“He was distracted while the money was being counted,” she explained. “Staring off into space. He’s never like that.”

Ruby leaned forward and patted Beth’s shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Yeah,” Annie said, her voice a lot calmer now. “Someone that shady has to have back-up plans for his back-up plans. Plus, we know first hand that it’s impossible to take him down.”

Beth nodded a little. They were right. He was incredibly resourceful but she just couldn’t budge that feeling. There had been a time when she would have done anything to get Rio out of her life but now, thinking about the real possibility that he could be dead, it surprised her how much that hurt.

They went straight back to Beth’s house. It was empty so there would be no risk of anyone coming home to find them. Inside, they went straight to the kitchen and gathered around the island counter. Beth sat on one of the stools while Ruby made her tea and Annie poured her some whiskey. She regarded both drinks as they were placed down in front of her but couldn’t bring herself to take either.

“Why are you so concerned about what happens to Rio?” Annie asked. “Why didn’t you just start running when you heard the shots?”

“What if the shooter came after us for working with Rio?”

It was an automatic response because she couldn’t begin to explain why she was so concerned to herself let alone them. From the looks on their faces, they clearly didn’t believe her but they didn’t push it either. Instead, they too poured themselves a drink and sat down with her.

In the end, Beth chose to wrap her hands around the tea to keep them warm but opted, instead, to drink the alcohol. It was lot stronger than she remembered but the burning sensation offered momentary release from the worry she felt. Her mind was racing and the confusion over her feelings didn’t help much either. The sounds of the gunshots kept ringing in her head. If only she had said anything, pushed it further and made him admit that something was on his mind.

* * *

 

They had been back at Beth’s for what felt like a lifetime. Ruby and Annie had long since moved to the couch to get more comfortable while Beth remained in the kitchen. She had gotten up a couple of times to try and busy herself but it never worked. She was so amped up that when her front door open, she jumped and dropped the glass she had been holding, it shattering all over the floor. 

Ruby and Annie had become more alert and rushed to join her in the kitchen. They grouped together, being careful to avoid the broken glass. The three of them held their breath until finally, they saw who it was.

Rio came into view with two of his boys, the same ones as before, flanking him. Beth felt the tightness in her chest release at the sight of him. He was alive and, from what she could see, completely unharmed. His focus was back again as well. He was looking her right in the eye this time, his attention completely and utterly on her.

“What’s going on?” Annie asked when nobody spoke.

“Figured I’d better check on you ladies,” Rio said, his eyes drifting to her as he spoke but then returning immediately to Beth.

Suddenly, Beth cleared the space between her and Rio. She stopped right in front of him and as he looked down at her, she hit his chest. She did it over and over. Her hands closed tightly into fists. He didn’t even try to stop her, only moving to reclaim his stance every time she hit him particularly hard. He simply watched her as she called him names and cursed him out.

As her movements began to falter, he grabbed her wrists. Beth looked up at him, her breathing heavy. There were tears in her eyes and she hated that fact. Rio tilted his head to the side as he looked her over. Everyone was silent. Ruby and Annie were considering intervening and while their guns weren’t drawn, Rio’s boys had their hands awfully close to their waistbands in anticipation.

She glared at him. “Get out of my house.”

Yanking her hands away from him, Beth pushed past him and headed for her bedroom. She slammed the door shut behind her and went over to her dresser. She gripped the edge of it and looked down, eyes closed. The fear and dread she had felt before was slowly being replaced with anger. She took some deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

Behind her, the door opened. “Are they gone?”

She had assumed it was Ruby or Annie but when no response came she looked up to see Rio reflected in the mirror before her. He was by the door, watching her carefully. As she turned around to face him, he stepped forward.

“I told you to leave,” she said before he could get too close.

“I think the bruises developing on my chest gives me the right to be here.”

It was clear he wasn’t going to leave until they talked. She was honestly a little surprised that he had allowed her to hit him so much.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said, and she to some extent she did mean it. “I’m also sorry we raced out of there.”

Rio shrugged. “You did the right thing. I told you to go.”

There was something about him and Beth’s mouth fell open as it hit her. “You _knew_ that there was going to be a gunfight.” She had seen that something was bothering him so he must have been concerned about whatever deal he was trying to sort out but it hadn’t crossed her mind that he might know about the shooting, that he might have been expecting it.

“I knew it might go wrong.”

That anger was boiling up again and it didn’t help that he was making his way over to her, this time closing the gap between them. She had been so sick with worry, not knowing if he was okay or not. As far as she was concerned, this shooting had come out of nowhere. Armed or not, there was still an incredibly high chance that he could have been killed but no, he was prepared the whole time. He had invited them to meet there knowing he had another meeting straight after, one that was going to end badly.

“You are unbelievable.”

He smiled a little. “Is that so?”

Beth hit his chest again and this time she must have struck a previous sore spot because he visibly flinched and cursed a little under his breath. “It’s not funny.”

Rio’s eyes narrowed. “What is your problem?”

“You!”

She was practically yelling but he had no issue with keeping his voice down. “Me?” He almost laughed as he said it.

“I didn’t know if you were dead or alive,” Beth hissed, shoving him away from her.

His featured softened and he frowned, his face the picture of confusion. “So what?”

“I was scared.” Beth couldn’t believe she was admitting it to but what surprised her more is that she kept talking. “I couldn’t breathe thinking that you might be dead. The thought alone made me ache. And you knew that those shots were going to happen. We could have met anywhere else, you could have given us a heads up, but no. You’re selfish and you kept the three of us in the dark. We had no idea if someone was going to come outside and kill us next.”

Rio’s face was now void of emotion. “I told you to leave.”

“Like we had much time,” she snapped. “And you were different. I’ve never seen you that distracted before. I knew something was wrong.”

He stepped back towards her, his head tilted slightly to one side. “Elizabeth,” he said, his voice soft as he reached up and wiped away her tears.

Beth hadn’t even realised she had been crying but now that she did, it was hard to stop. As his arm wrapped around her waist, she stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly and when she pulled away to look up at him, his eyes searched her face.

“I thought you’d celebrate if anything happened to me.”

“So did I.”

He smiled at that. “How did this happen?”

“What do you mean?”

Rio’s eyes drifted to her lips and before she could process what was happening, he was leaning in and kissing her. It was softer than Beth had expected. As she kissed him back, he pulled her in closer and his other hand came up to touch her cheek.

When they broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead against hers. Again, she cried, her previous anger slowly turning into relief. Rio was okay. It was as if all of the tension left her body at once. She couldn’t begin to imagine how things were going to change. This entire time it had been strictly business, even friends was a bit of a push, but now here she was, unable to imagine what it would be like to not know him at all. She had only gotten a glimpse of that pain and she didn’t want to imagine what it would be like for real.

He gently kissed her cheek before leaving chaste kisses on her lips. Every time he did it, Beth found herself smiling more and more. With each soft kiss, he looked her right in the eye. There was a twinkle there. It was all so deliberate.

“There we go,” he whispered as she finally broke out into a grin.

“How did this happen?” she asked, repeating his earlier question.

“Does it matter?”

Beth thought about that for a moment. Did it? Could she ever explain how they got to this point? Would she ever be able to pinpoint when things had changed between them? Probably not and she quickly realised that it really didn’t matter because just the thought of never kissing Rio again, of never being held like this by him ever again, was unimaginable now. So, tugging on his shirt, she pulled him back into her and this time she kissed him first.


End file.
